Demon Days
by Amodestpoet
Summary: The Ori have fallen and there is an uneasy peace in the galaxy. But all that is soon threatened by the release of the demon Dormammu
1. Prologue

Atlantis  
10000 Years Ago

The flames on his head burning bright, a cold look in his eyes, Dormammu stared into eyes of the Lantean council that would determine his fate. Both the Lanteans and The Asgardians were staring at him with a look of fear. That pleased him. Even if they had restrained him, he was still a threat in their eyes.

"Dormammu, for your crimes against civilizations and species, you are brought before us today. You have cost the lives of many people in your petty war. A war which is still being fought to this day because of your thirst for power. The Wraith continue to attack us despite their leader being in our custody." The tall Lantean woman looked at him with disgust. They were not certain where he came from, but the Lanteans knew they could not let such a creature have it's freedom any longer. If it weren't for the threat of the Wraiths, they would likely execute the Dread Lord, as he styled himself.

"Good. The minions have finally decided they like power. Let them take this galaxy, it means nothing to me. I have much bigger plans than this galaxy." His tone was smug and condescending, his demeanor that of a king.

"Silence, Dark One. Your machinations are of no concern to us. Our concern is for the well-being of the peoples of this galaxy. Your freedom is a threat to it, but your death would be a bigger threat to us. We cannot allow you to live, yet we cannot kill you. Therefore you shall be imprisoned for all eternity in a stasis chamber, where you cannot live but will be unable to die." The Asgardians on the council started chattering among themselves but they seemed to agree with the decision.

"Eternity is a long time, Lanteans. I will be resurrected eventually, if only because no power source is that strong. But I promise you, these people you hold so dear in this and other galaxies are doomed. I will return, and with my return, the universe will fall to my feet." Dormammu was taken away by a force of Asgardians and driven into a stasis chamber. Before the chamber closed on him, he managed to get one last menacing laugh out.

"Let us hope that he is wrong. Bury the pod deep beneath one our repositories in the Milky Way. Let us hope that we can win this war so that we may forever protect the universe from his darkness." The Lantean woman turned and went back to the classrooms where she belonged, where her work called her. 


	2. Chapter 1

**As always, this would not be possible without the encouragements of my beta, Spirit Speaker. I hope you all enjoy this. Please review**

Earth, Stargate Command

It was a quiet day at the SGC. The war with the Ori was over, and the last Goa'uld System Lord had finally been captured and defeated. For the first time in over 10 years, there was no looming threat out among the stars. No evil parasite god wishing to conquer the Earth, no Ascended beings wishing to use their worshipers as fodder for more power, no sentient machines. Just a band of smugglers and scoundrels known as the Lucian Alliance. But they were mostly humans that rose to power after the fall of the Goa'uld.

The Klaxons were wailing like usual since SG-13 had just returned from their first trip to P3-110. It had been deemed worth exploring, but not quite worth the attention of SG-1. Colonel Dixon was very glad that nothing unusual had happened this trip. He could never shake the memories of what happened on P3X-666. Waving away the ghosts in his mind, he headed towards the briefing room where Gen. Landry awaited there debriefing.  
"Colonel, how was the trip?" Gen. Landry always had an unassuming and upbeat manner about him. It was part of what made him such a good leader.  
"It was fine, sir. No trouble yet. We did discover some interesting ruins that were overlooked the last time the SGC was there. But we weren't the only ones there, sir. There was evidence of a Lucian Alliance camp recently. I don't know what they want there, sir, but I suggest we keep it away from them." Dixon was uneasy about the Lucian Alliance. They had risen to power after the fall of the Goa'uld, but weren't nearly as evil. They were more of an opportunistic evil. Taking power where they could, regardless of the cost.  
"The Alliance? What would they be looking for on a Goa'uld outpost? Find anything else of interest?" Landry wasn't all about searching for new weapons. Any new tech that could help fight future wars would be appreciated.

"Yes, there were some ruins that we were able to uncover. We need Dr. Jackson's help to translate them, if he's available." Dixon was grateful for the opportunity to work with Jackson again. His experience with languages was invaluable for any situation.  
"Dr. Jackson? I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but why him? We have plenty of skilled translators on base." Landry had reservations about sending his best scientists out for a simple translation.  
"These ruins are very peculiar. They seem to have a warning written on them. But in a form of Goa'uld that we haven't encountered. It's probably the usual bloated nonsense, but I'd rather be sure."  
"Sure. I can send him along for the ride next time you go through." Landry dismissed Dixon and went back to reviewing the reports of all the other current missions, seeing if anything about the Lucian Alliance could be done.

Daniel Jackson was in his lab, going over the Asgard database. 100,000 years of history was a lot to cover. Teal'c had mentioned that he had gone through it before, but refused to say what the outcome of it was. It was for the best, since 50 years was undone in an instant and all their lives were spared. Still, he couldn't help but be curious as to what exactly had happened over those 50 years.

"Still pouring over the database? Of course you are, you'll never stop." Vala was bored and needed some company.

"What is it this time, Vala?" Daniel was getting to some very interesting research on past menaces the Asgardians have fought. Most of the races seemed to have been wiped out in some grand wars, but a few stragglers were dealt with every now and then.  
"What? I can't just come in and talk to my friend? I have to want something? That hurts." Vala was feigning her injured pride, but she really had come just to talk.

"You usually want something. Now, what is it?"  
"I came to see how you were doing. How the research is coming along. Maybe you've unlocked the secrets of the universe."

"No secrets just yet, just some very interesting and extensive wars. One in particular with some race called the Faltine. It seems most of them were wiped out in a war in the Pegasus galaxy. Apparently they fought alongside the Wraith and were lost in the early days of the war. Ever hear of them?" Vala had been a host once and knew much about the history of the galaxy.  
"No, they don't sound familiar. Daniel, they were wiped out over 10,000 years ago. Why not let them be for one day and come have fun? Let's go out and do something." Vala grabbed his arm and was about to lead him to the door when Gen. Landry walked in.  
"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait for another time. I need to send Daniel on a trip with SG-13." Vala looked disappointed.

"SG-13? What happened? What did they find?" Daniel was curious about P3-110. It hadn't been on the docket to be explored in some time.

"Just the typical ruins of a Goa'uld outpost. They need your help translating some writing. Vala, I suppose you should go along as well. You might be able to tell what they were trying to accomplish there." Landry waited for them to gather their thoughts.

"Uh, sure. Just one question, sir. Why me? I'm not as good at translating writings as Daniel is." Vala was confused.

"But you do know the tactics of the Goa'uld and that right there is why you're going. Because while Dr. Jackson translates the writing, you can help survey the ruins. SG-13 is scheduled to return to the planet in an hour. Be sure you're on time." Landry then excused himself and left the pair alone.

"Well this should be interesting. Maybe not as fun as a picnic, but still, gets you out of the lab." Vala grinned as Daniel went back to studying the database. 

* * *

Well, what do you think of the Lucian Alliance? The planet was actually a planet on the mission schedule, but was never explored on the show. As always, thanks to those who follow this. Every bit is encouraging.


	3. Chapter 2

**Many thanks to Spirit Speaker, without whom this would not exist. Also thanks to Works of the Goddess for the amazing cover photo. And thanks to you reader, for looking at this chapter. Read and review!**

The klaxons were blaring again, but the general atmosphere of the room was pretty light. No one was worried about what they were going to find on the other side of the gate. It was just another scientific expedition. P3-110 was a relatively temperate world. There was no worry about the conditions on the planet. If anything, it was probably terraformed by the Ancients, though they had yet to be able to prove that they did that.

"Chevron 7 is locked." The familiar voice of Walter confirming the hits on the Stargate's dialing system helped it seem like just another day. There was no tension among the team as the vortex opened up and crashed back in on itself as it always did.  
"SG-13, you're good to go." Landry called out. With that, the team grabbed their gear and started through the gate.

P3-110

"Well, this planet sure would make a lovely vacation spot." Vala observed. "Really quite quaint when you first look at it." Vala looked around. There wasn't much to see, but it was nice.

"Yeah, no bets this time. We all know what we're here for." Dixon started.  
"Why not? There's so much we could find." Bosworth shot back.

"Alright fine. Furling tech. We haven't seen them in a while. Worth a shot though " Dixon started.

"I'm gonna go with typical goa'uld ruins." Bosworth chimed in.

"And once again, Bosworth is disqualified for being a smartass." Dixon chuckled.

"Umm… Military outpost." Vala suggested.

"It's possible." Balinsky agreed. "I'm opting out of this one."  
"Lame."

"I'll second the outpost." Daniel didn't really care what they found. As long as he got to study something relatively harmless.

The group moved forward towards the site of the ruins. They were about 3 kilometers away from the gate and over pretty open terrain. It made Dixon a little nervous since they wouldn't be able to take cover in a firefight, but the same was true for the opposition. As they approached, they noticed signs of a camp that had been there recently and the equipment was still there.

"That's not something I was hoping to see." Dixon sighed. The Lucian Alliance had been here and would almost likely be back. This was going to make things complicated.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. From what I understand they're in a bit of chaos right now. They probably don't have too much interest in returning to this site." Vala chimed in. She still had a couple contacts in the Alliance. Not high placed but they still heard things.

"If you say so. Let's get to it then. The hieroglyphics are down on a lower level." Dixon brought out his flashlight and opened a door into the building. It was a tall building, about 15 feet high, made of something similar to steel.

The interior was dark, but there was still some light. The flashlights wavered around as Bosworth and Dixon tried to set up generators and lights.

"You'd think the Lucian Alliance would have the decency to leave some lighting equipment laying around here." Dixon laughed at his own joke as they got the equipment up and running. "For that matter, why didn't we just leave it around here?"

"This place doesn't seem like the typical outpost the Goa'uld left. I certainly never saw anything like it. There's really no strategic advantage to this planet." Vala was confused by the location of the building and the structure. "There's something strange about this building. Haven't you seen something like it on a prior mission?"  
"It's possible. I don't know what it could be, but these hieroglyphics aren't making any sense." Daniel was annoyed. "'Beware the Demon Days when all will bow before the Dread Lord.'"

"That sounds more ominous than usual for the Goa'uld. The "Dread Lord?" Any idea who that might be?" Dixon asked.

"I'd say it could have been Ra or Sokar, but this seems arrogant even for them. No, I have no idea who this is referring to. But the Demon Days… Those are the last days of the Egyptian Calendar. They end in 3 days. I'm not sure I like that coincidence."

"That does seem a bit melodramatic for beings who pretended to be gods for aeons. No System Lord ever had enough power to dominate the entire galaxy, not even Anubis. If they had, there would not have been a need for other System Lords." Vala shuddered at the memories of her time as a host.

"Guys, I think you'll want to see this." Bosworth called out from deeper in the ruins.

"What is it now, Bosworth?" Dixon called back.

"I think there may be an Ancient Repository down here. I'm not certain though." Bosworth sounded excited.

"Well, so much for finding any Furling technology." Dixon started down to head towards the inner part of the ruins.

"An ancient repository beneath these ruins? Might explain the Goa'uld presence." Vala started to go with Dixon.

"I think I'll stay here and figure out the context for this translation." Daniel proceeded to jot down more notes as he looked over the rest of the chamber.

"Have fun with that. I think we're gonna get the more interesting part of this assignment." Vala shot at Daniel before going to see what the rest of the ruins

held.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has added this story to your alerts. Each little bit helps encourage and inspire. You are all wonderful. Sorry for the long wait, thought I had uploaded this last week.


	4. Chapter 3

**Surprise! Two chapters in 4 days? This is what happens when I miss a week somehow. Many thanks to Spirit Speaker for her wonderful editing skills. Go check out her stuff. As always, read and enjoy!**

"Exactly how did you miss this before, Bosworth?" Vala decided to tease him a little.

"Wasn't hard to miss. Didn't really explore this section before. We were more concerned with the the hieroglyphics than the ruins themselves. Probably should have made sure that there were no hidden chambers." Bosworth held his flashlight in front of him, as they made their way to the repository.

"Can it, Bosworth. You were just lazy, as always." Dixon joined in on the fun.

"Whatever you say, Colonel. Here it is, just up ahead. Did you bring any lights?"  
"That was supposed to be your job. Set up lighting in any chamber you could find." It wasn't, but Dixon couldn't resist giving him a hard time.

"Uhh… right then. Let me go get on that." Bosworth started to head back to the surface, but Dixon stopped him.

"You have something to show us first. We'll just make do for now. Our first scheduled check in is in about 45 minutes. Let's hope we have something worth reporting by then, other than that disturbing warning." Dixon still wasn't sure how to take that message. Who or what was the Dread Lord? And why the demon days? What was significant about them.

"Boys, can we focus on the task? There is repository up ahead and we could maybe compare it with the Asgardian database. Really could be quite helpful." Vala was glancing around the construct, trying to determine exactly what it was that this place was meant for.

"Here we go." Bosworth looked at the device on the wall. "I don't suppose you have the Ancient gene, do you Vala?"

"Sadly, no. Maybe we should check-in early, and get them to send someone with it." Vala suggested.

"That's not a terrible idea, but it can wait. Let's just make sure there are no more hidden surprises or more written warnings on the walls. Bosworth, go check on Jackson. We'll have to check this place out more thoroughly." As they were talking, none of them noticed the small latch beneath the repository. Nor that there was a crevice just next to it. Both were too small to notice on a cursory glance.

SG-1 SG-1 SG-1

The Stargate started to spin, but no one in the construct noticed. 5 figures stepped through the gate as the vortex opened. All of them were armed, but none of them looked particularly fierce. They had come to finish studying the ruins, and were more interested in what they had to say than what the applications of the ruins could give them. They were scientists before they were smugglers. But the presence of the M.A.L.P annoyed them.  
"Looks like someone's gotten here before us. Probably them Earth jerks," one of the men said.

"Shut up, Ze'ev. They don't matter. We have a job to do, so let's get on it," Ayal grunted.  
"Gentlemen, can we just get on with this. We have a lot of work to do, so let's not waste time. If they're here, then we'll deal with them." Kefira wasn't one to waste time.

"Whatever you say." Ayal kept walking. They wanted to reach the construct before sundown. Chaos in the ranks was the only reason they hadn't been back in a few days. Turning to the other two members of their party, Ayal started barking orders. "Dikla and Baruch, you stay here and watch the gate. Make sure no one comes through without informing us. And try not to kill anyone, prisoners are very useful right now."

With that, the trio started walking toward the construct, nervous about what they were going to find, and excited for the possibility of discovery.

When they finally arrived at the construct, Ayal took out his rifle and motioned for Kefira to look inside.

"There's a couple of generators inside. It think that's what they call them. I don't see anyone yet. Might as well get this over with." Kefira stepped inside and looked around. Ayal followed quickly after. Ze'ev stepped inside, but didn't have a weapon drawn.  
"You know, we could always just try and work with them. It wouldn't hurt to have a little perspective," Ze'ev suggested.

"I highly doubt they'll work with us. They think we're all criminals," Kefira said without turning around.

"We are all criminals. We just happen to be scientists as well," Ayal joked.

Looking around the first chamber of the construct, Kefira didn't see anyone. "Alright we need to go find those hieroglyphics. There must be a second message somewhere."

It was as they made their way to the second chamber that they came upon Daniel Jackson.

"Ayal! Found one! Don't do anything stupid!" Kefira shouted at the others and Daniel as she pointed her gun at him.

"I don't really think that's necessary," Daniel started to say.  
"Shut it. How many more of you are there?" Ayal said as he approached.

"Who are you? Are you Lucian Alliance?" Daniel asked.

"That doesn't matter. How many more people are here in these ruins?" Ayal asked again.  
"Just 4 of us. You don't have to worry. We're just here to study the writings," Daniel said.

"Dr. Jackson, you need to come look at this," Bosworth chirped over their radio.  
"Dr. Jackson… That name should mean something to me. Let's go see what they have found then. I think it's time we all met one another anyways." Kefira kept her gun on Jackson.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," Daniel shook his head.

"Too bad. Let's get this over with." Ayal started pushing him towards the lower levels of the chamber.

* * *

Well, well, that was a little surprising. Blame Spirit Speaker for the Hebrew names. What do you think's going to happen next? Also, the reason this is going up so early is my brother is getting married this weekend! So you won't see an update til the middle of next week. Thank you all to those who have added this story to your alerts, you have no idea how much it helps.


	5. Chapter 4

**Gah, sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but between my vacation to see my brother get married and my computer dying, I've had a hard time finding a way to keep writing this story. Don't worry, I'm not giving up. Many, many, many thanks to Spirit Speaker for correcting things I didn't even know were problems, she really is fantastic. You all are amazing, thanks for reading!**

Vala and Bosworth were arguing with each other about what they should do with the repository. Dixon was just standing back, not wanting to get involved. Dixon was actually trying not to laugh at the situation.  
"Dr. Jackson, how long does it take to get down here?" Dixon called into his radio.

"Uh.. Something came up, but I'll be there shortly." Daniel's voice called back after a little too long. Dixon frowned.

"Vala, Bosworth, enough fooling around. We'll see what Jackson has to say once he finally decides to come down here." Dixon wasn't sure why he didn't come immediately, but then again, Jackson did have a habit of getting lost in his work.

"So you think we should just leave this here for the Lucian Alliance to possibly get their hands on?" Vala snapped.

"Of course you should. You really have no right to it. We were here first," Kefira announced as she walked in with her rifle pointed at Vala. Ayal and Ze'ev were right behind her, their zats pointed at Daniel. "Vala. How lovely to see you again."

Dixon tried to get his M15 up and pointed at the intruders but was shot with one of the zats before he got a chance.

"I really wouldn't try that again," Ayal said as he lowered his zat.

"Kefira. Of course it'd be you," Vala sighed

"Wait, your name is Kefira?" Daniel was intrigued by this.

"Yes, it is. You will learn to fear it if I decide to let you go. Now that we're all gathered around, however, let's have a nice little chat about this structure." Kefira motioned for the team to drop their weapons.

"Kefira, why do you always have to show up when I'm having a bit of fun?" Vala was not amused by her arrival or that she had captured Daniel.

"This is your idea of fun now? You really have lost your mind." Ayal shook his head and went over to the repository. He put his head in it and sighed when nothing happened. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it didn't work."

"That's because you don't have the necessary genes to activate that," Daniel took a risk and replied.

"He's right. These things are kinda touchy," Ze'ev confirmed and Daniel let out a quick sigh. The Lucian Alliance was not known for it's mercy.

"Vala, dear. How did you end up with a specimen like this? Cute and smart. Not usually your type," Kefira taunted her old friend.

"Oh, I don't know about smart. Definitely cute though. Now, why are you here?" Vala demanded.

"To find out about the Dread Lord of course. It's an interesting moniker for a Goa'uld System Lord. They were arrogant, of course, but nothing quite as menacing as 'Dread Lord'." Kefira studied Daniel for a moment, trying to figure out what the attraction was for Vala.

"How can you be certain it's a System Lord? There have been other powerful entities in the universe. The Ori, for example, who are dead now." Daniel was confused about Kefira. Her name suggested more than a common LA thug.

"Oh yes, we've heard about the Ori, and the Wraith and of course there have always been whispers of the old gods. But none have ever been found and the Wraith are far away. So that begs the question. Who is the Dread Lord? And what is a repository doing in a structure that has a warning to fear the days of the Demon?" Kefira asked Daniel.

Ayal was still studying the repository when he noticed a lever at the bottom of it. "Well, well, what do we have here?" He then pulled the lever and stepped back.

The repository pulled itself back into the wall, and the wall started to shudder and move back. It opened up into yet another chamber, this one dark and oddly lit. There was a small hole in the middle of the chamber, with a steel covering over it.  
"I think perhaps we should all investigate this together. This is an important chamber, no doubt, or it wouldn't have been hidden so thoroughly," Dixon offered.

Kefira looked at Ayal and Ze'ev who both shrugged and deferred to her. "Don't do anything stupid and we may yet be able to work together to accomplish our mutual goals," Kefira warned the group.

As they wandered around the room, Daniel stopped and looked at more of the Ancient writings.

"Wait a minute, this doesn't make any sense. Why would the Goa'uld leave a warning outside of the Ancient chamber? Not that this make any more sense." Daniel frowned as he looked over the chamber in the center of the room.

"Why, what does it say?" Vala walked over next to him and looked over it herself.

"'_The strongest fell against him, and could not rise above the heat and fire. The power hungry could not compete with his starvation. Even the mad will fear this ruler of apprehension_.'" Daniel translated with some hesitation in his voice. Something about this chamber just felt off.

"Well that's a little bit melodramatic." Vala shrugged and went around the room, trying to keep her distance from Kefira.

""Ruler of Apprehension?' Does it really say that, Jackson or are you making this up again?" Dixon had finally recovered from the stun blast and couldn't help but feel odd about what the writings said. "Bosworth, I think we've seen enough for this trip. Let's report back to Command and see what they think."

"Uh.. Sure… Anything to get out of this creepy chamber." Bosworth started to head to the entrance of the chamber alongside Dixon, when Ayal blocked their path.

"We can't let you do that yet. There's still too much we don't know about you. We can't simply let you leave unguarded. Besides, our men wouldn't let you get through the Gate," Ayal placed his hand on his rifle as he spoke.

"Unfortunately, he's right. You can't just leave. We'll have to accompany you… Ze'ev, what the hell are you doing?!" Kefira screamed as she saw Ze'ev knock over Daniel and stand on the surface of the covering. Dixon and Bosworth immediately turned around and brought their guns to bear.

"You can't hear him? His voice is so soothing. So… powerful. You can't fight this. Why even bother?" Ze'ev bent down and picked up Jackson's handgun and started to point it at Kefira. "He will awaken soon. And then all will be his."

"I've heard enough." Dixon shot a single round through Ze'evs' heart. His body crumpled to the ground and lay on top of the covering. "Let's all get out of here. I think we've seen enough."

"Agreed. Ayal, let's go with them." No sooner did the words come out of her mouth than the covering on the hole open and Ze'ev's body fell through. Ayal started to head towards it, but Kefira pulled him back. "We don't know what's down there. We need to leave, this place is starting to fall apart." As the group raced out of the chamber, back towards the surface, an odd glow started to appear behind them. None of them knew exactly what it was, but they couldn't afford to find out either.

As they reached the surface, they ran about 30 meters past the structure and watched it collapse in on itself.  
"Anyone mind telling me what the hell that was about?" Dixon panted as he watched the structure glow.

"I'm not certain, but something tells me that it wasn't good. I've never seen Ancient technology quite like that before. That was something incredibly dangerous." Jackson was stunned about the sudden events that took place.

While they still had the chance, Dixon and Bosworth turned their guns on the two Lucian Alliance Scientists.

"Alright. You're gonna have to come with us and start talking," Dixon said as he aimed his sights directly at Kefira.

* * *

Well that certainly took an unexpected turn. Anyone have a guess as to Kefira's name and why it intrigues Daniel? Except of course for Spirit Speaker. Many thanks go to **Spirit Speaker **and my mysterious **Guest **for reviewing. And thank you to anyone who has added this story to their alerts. You all are the best.


	6. Chapter 5

**So this has been an interesting experience with this chapter. Not really sure what happened to be honest. Many thanks to my beta, Spirit Speaker, for telling me when it wasn't working. How she manages to find time to edit with all her projects is beyond me. Hope you guys enjoy this! As always, read and review!**

Ze'ev awoke with a groan in a strangely lit chamber. As he weaved in and out of consciousness, with varying degrees of dizziness, he noticed a strange object in the middle of the room. He tried to stand up, but was immediately flooded with a sharp knife of pain in his chest. He put his hand over his heart, drew it back and saw that he was bleeding, but not horribly.

"What the hell? How did I get here?" He tried sitting up with more success than standing, and rubbed his head to try and calm the drums pounding away. He looked up towards the ceiling and saw some strange writings on it. Not Ancient, which he knew a little of, or Goa'uld, which he was highly fluent in, nor any language he recognized in this galaxy. "That's a little weird. Where the hell am I?"

_You are exactly where I wish you to be, _a mysterious voice resonated in his head.

"What? Who was that?" He looked around but saw nothing but the glow of the object in the middle of the room. Grunting, he stood up and walked to it.

_Release me, and all your dreams will come true. You will finally the the respect and recognition that you deserve, _the voice promised him.

"That sounds suspicious. But assuming you're not full of shit, how would you accomplish this?" Ze'ev examined the structure and found nothing obvious.

_I have the power to manipulate the very foundations of the universe. _

Ze'ev frowned at that. It sounded too much like what the Goa'uld said.

"How do I know you're not just another damn System Lord? We've had enough of your tyranny." Ze'ev continued to study the structure. "You know this looks like it could be one of those famed stasis pods. But I've never seen one quite like this."

_Release me,_ the voice insisted.

"Why? What guarantee do I have that you'll help me out?" Ze'ev noticed a panel off to the left of the chamber. As he kneeled down to look at it, he glanced at the glossed over panel on the chamber. What was behind that? What could be so dangerous that the even the Goa'uld were afraid of it? As a scientist, he was compelled to figure out mysteries. But perhaps this one was too much. As he stood up to try and look for a way out, his knee accidently hit the panel.

"Dammit. That hurt." Before he could look for a way out, the chamber started to hiss. "What the hell?" A cruel, cold laughter emerged from inside the chamber. A tall, fiery figure, robed in a hellish black outfit stepped out and looked around, as if it hadn't seen the world in a long time.

"It's been too long. Far too long. They will still feel my wrath. All of them." Dormammu spoke like a king that has been exiled from his throne.

"W-who… what are you?" Ze'ev had since backed up away from the chamber, but had not found any way out.

"You. You should have freed me of your own accord. However… you did free me, so I will consider some small amount of mercy." Dormammu turned toward him and started walking.

Until that moment, Ze'ev hadn't been quite sure what sort of being he was dealing with. But when he saw that the light from the chamber had been the mystical flames of Dormammu's body and the laughing skull that was his head, Ze'ev started to scream.

"Wait, milord! I will serve you however you wish! I am yours forever!" Ze'ev tripped over a cable has he stepped backwards away from the demon.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. Since you so graciously volunteered your soul to me, I will allow you to keep your pathetic mind intact." Dormammu stepped forward and started wielding the mythical flames to transform Ze'ev's body.

SG-1 SG- SG-1

"So now what do you expect to do? Do expect us to come quietly now that you've murdered our friend and stuck a gun in our faces?" Kefira's despair over Ze'ev came out as a poisonous backlash against SG-13.

"I think we should all just take a moment and figure out what the best option is. Someone did just die." Daniel was as confused about what happened in there as anyone.

"The best option? You mean whether you want to kill us or not? For that matter, who says that we're the only ones on this planet? You have no idea how big our expedition is." Ayal was pissed that his friend had to die.

"If we work together, I'm sure we can come to some sort of accord…" Daniel started. "Can it, Jackson. We're gonna have to take them into custody for the time being. It's the only way we can be sure of their intentions as scientists," Dixon interjected.

"Don't we get a say in this?" Kefira demanded.

"Unfortunately, no." Dixon then put handcuffs on the pair and they started marching towards the gate.

"You know, it's probably a good idea to get some information out of them now, before Landry gets a hold of them," Vala suggested.

"Oh look at you being all helpful for once. What happened to your sense of piracy, Vala?" Kefira mocked her as she walked along the with the group.

"I've found a more interesting life with SG-1. Not that the piracy is completely gone, mind you." Vala winked at Daniel just to throw him off a little.

"Enough. How many more members of your expedition are there?" Dixon needed to know what to expect, so he could try and get back to SGC. It was too risky to take them to an offworld site, where they might not be able to stay under as heavy guard. No, unfortunately, they had to be taken to Command. They didn't seem as large of criminals as other members of the Lucian Alliance they'd run across, but they still couldn't be trusted.

"Now, now. So rude. You need to learn to be a little more polite if you're ever gonna get anywhere with a lady," Kefira taunted.

"We're gonna be there shortly. We might as well tell them," Ayal suggested.

"Fine. There are two more of our team standing guard at the gate. One of them is Ze'ev's brother. He won't be happy to know you murdered him." Kefira saw the look of grief flash across Dixon's face when she mentioned it. _So he is human after all._

"Then there's no reason to tell him the truth right away," Daniel suggested as a means to keep them all safe.

"You better hope he's in a good mood. We're coming up on them now." Ayal grinned as he thought about what Baruch would do when he found out about his brother's death.

The group walked on, cautiously, as the approached the gate. They saw no sign of the two guards.

"Where'd they go?" Kefira looked around nervously.

"Bosworth! Search the immediate area. Be smart about it. Balinsky, do you copy?" Dixon hadn't heard from him in awhile and was getting nervous. Static was the only answer he got.

"Balinsky, do you copy?" Again, nothing but static.

"Jackson, start dialing home. We're getting out of here."  
"But what about Balinsky?" Vala wasn't sure where the Colonel's hastiness was coming from.

"Did either of you see him get out of the construct?" Dixon hadn't seen him for awhile.

"No, but that doesn't mean we should just abandon him," Daniel argued.

"We're coming back with more teams next time. Let's get home." Dixon stepped back as the gate activated. He pressed in the code for the GDO. As they started to step through, an explosion back at the ruins shook the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Vala asked

"Doesn't matter. We'll be back shortly." Dixon stepped through the gate and headed back to Earth.

* * *

The Dread Lord has finally been released! What do you think is gonna happen to Ze'ev? Where is everyone else? Stick around to find out. Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their alerts, it really helps! Thank you all!


	7. Chapter 6

**Alright, this is up a little later than I would have liked, but as you may have noticed, I had a few issues with keep the last two chapters on here. Thank you to those who pointed that out to me. And thank you to my dear friend and Beta, Spirit Speaker, without whom this would not be possible. As always, read and enjoy!**

The Gate Room was scrambling with soldiers, guns pointed at the Stargate, waiting for the order to fire if necessary.

"We have an unscheduled incoming wormhole. Repeat, we have unscheduled incoming wormhole," Walter was announcing to the base. Everyone needed to be on edge just in case there was a possible incursion. You could never quite tell what was going to happen when a wormhole was coming back.

"What's going on?" Gen. Landry was in the command room, waiting to hear some answers. "Do we have an iris-code yet?"

"Sir, we just got one. It's SG-13." Walter sighed with relief, but was still nervous. The team was safe enough to use the code but that didn't explain what happened on the planet.

"Open the iris, but don't have them stand down just yet. I wanna know where the hell they've been. They're 4 hours overdue on their last check-in." Landry wasn't angry, just worried. SG-13 had been through hell in the past.

The figure of Vala Mal Doran passed through the event horizon and into the Gate Room. Kefira and Ayal appeared shortly behind her, with Dixon and Daniel coming in last. The wormhole then dissipated. All five of the group were panting heavily.

"Colonel Dixon, you and your team report to me immediately. And put those two under guard until I can confirm who they are," Landry called over the intercom.

"Well this is certainly a warm welcome, Vala," Kefira shot as she was led from the room alongside Ayal.

The group headed up to the conference room and were mildly surprised when Teal'c and Colonel Mitchell were there as well.

"Well then, let's get started. First off, who are the guests? Second, where is Balinsky? And finally, what the heck happened on P3-110?" Landry was keeping it brief. A soldier was missing, there were possible enemies in the base and they had no idea what happened on the planet.

"Kefira and Ayal. Lucian Alliance scientists and smugglers. Brother and sister too. Really quite annoying if you spend too much time with them. But they are good scientists," Vala rambled on.

"Brother and sister? That's surprising. What about Ze'ev? What was his deal?" Dixon asked, knowing that he would probably be reprimanded for his actions.

"I'm not sure. I'd never met the man before. He acted like he could hear a voice calling to him, right before you shot him."  
"You shot a man?" Landry frowned. This wasn't good.

"He was threatening the safety of the group. He could have opened something that probably shouldn't have been opened," Dixon started to explain. But even with all the things the Stargate Program had seen, how do you explain shooting a man based on a vague warning about a "Dread Lord?"

"Sir, it wasn't a bad decision. Everyone was on edge in that room. There was something not right about that chamber. There was a warning and a prophecy both left in the construct. Something was buried in there, something dangerous. Something that is hopefully still buried." Jackson was still bothered by the prophecies and what happened to everyone on that planet.

"Alright, that doesn't answer all my questions. Where is Balinsky?" Landry was concerned by the looks on their faces when talking about that construct.

"We don't know. We lost contact with him shortly after leaving the construct. Or shortly before. I'm not really certain what happened to him. According to Ayal, there were also two more Lucian Alliance members on that expedition. They were missing as well, but they might have just left the planet. But Balinsky's disappearance has me worried that something might have escaped that construct that was never meant to escape." Dixon shuddered at the thought of what could have been released.

"Sir, you keep saying that there was something there. Exactly what do you mean? Or what do you think?" Mitchell chimed in.

"Something or someone who styled itself the Dread Lord. I have no idea what the prophecies meant, but when something like that is left behind, I tend to pay attention."

"The Dread Lord? I have not heard of such a creature. None of the Goa'uld ever called themselves that. They preferred to be gods." Teal'c was curious about the title, though he didn't show it.

"Exactly what kind of prophecy are we talking?" Landry needed answers and quickly.

"There were two. One pretty straightforward and the other… Well…" Dixon started but couldn't quite remember.

"''_The strongest fell against him, and could not rise above the heat and fire. The power hungry could not compete with his starvation. Even the mad will fear this ruler of apprehension"," _Daniel sighed as he recited the disturbing rhetoric.

"Well that is certainly quite a warning. What was the other one then?" Mitchell shook slightly at the end of the verse.

"The other was written by a Goa'uld and didn't sound as ominious. 'Beware the Demon Days when all will bow before the Dread Lord'" Vala shrugged as she recited the first warning.

"I am unfamiliar with any Goa'uld having visited that planet before. There was never an interest in it for Apophis" Teal'c explained to the group.

"Well then. It seems quite clear that there is something hostile on that planet and that a member of the team is missing, quite possibly held captive by an enemy force. Looks like you're all going back." Landry had heard enough. He'd have a hearing with the IOA after they'd cleared up this incident with Balinsky.

"Very well, sir. We'll be ready within the hour." Dixon started to stand up and leave, but was stopped by a gesture from Landry"  
"You'll be taking the rest of SG-1 with you as well. I don't want to take any chances this time. In the meantime, I suppose I'll deal with the IOA and explain to them how we intend to handle this. Dismissed." Landry started to open another report when Vala asked a question.

"Uh, sir, what about Kefira and Ayal? They may be prisoners but they also have valuable information about that construct." Vala wasn't as concerned about that as she was about her old friend.

"You may be right about that, but I haven't determined if they're a threat yet or not. I'll let you know before you head out." Landry had to make sure they were scientists first, and smugglers second.

"Very well, sir. Thank you." Vala walked out of the room and caught up with the rest of the group.

* * *

Interesting debrief, to say the least. Don't worry, you'll find out what happened to Ze'ev and Balinsky real soon. Thanks go out to **Spirit Speaker, What's Up Yo, Major Simi and minori**, for reviewing. You all are wonderful. And continued thanks to those who have this story in their alerts. It's very much appreciated.


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